Round 10 Feature Match: Eric Hodge Santos versus Brain McBride

May 24th, 2015

Welcome to Day 2 of the 150th YCS! This morning’s first Match features Eric Hodge Santos, a Yang Zing player utilizing some of the new support out of Crossed Souls. His opponent is Brain McBride from Illinois piloting Nekroz with tech choices so amazing that I don’t want to spoil them. Both of these players have two losses in the tournament so far, which means whoever is defeated this Match will most likely not be making the Top 32 cut. Tensions are high, and we’re bound to see a really exciting Match to kick off the rest of the day! McBride won the die roll and opted to go second.

Hodge Santos opened two Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing, Skill Drain, Lose 1 Turn, and Dark Hole. He set Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing and his Traps before ending his turn.

McBride use Nekroz of Brionac to add Nekroz of Clausolas, which he then used to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope. He activated it and Hodge Santos chained Lose 1 Turn. Nekroz of Unicore came out in Defense Position after sending a Herald of Arc Light to the Graveyard, which searched another Nekroz of Unicore. Then he Normal Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh. It attacked over Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing to Special Summon Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing in Defense Position. McBride set one backrow and ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing. He switched the Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing to Attack Position and attacked the Nekroz of Unicore. McBrided responded with Phoenix Wing Wind Blast to return it to the top of the deck. He then set Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing and ended his turn.

McBride Normal Summoned Armageddon Knight. Hodge Santos used Skill Drain to negate all face-up monster’s effects! McBride switched Nekroz of Unicore to Attack Position. Thunder King Rai-Oh attacked over Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing to Special Summon a Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing from his deck. McBride passed.

Hodge Santos drew Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing. He used Dark Hole to clear the board, triggering Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing to Special Summon Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing in Defense Position. He Normal Summoned Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing and attacked directly for 1500. Then he ended his turn.

McBride banished his in-grave Nekroz Kaleidoscope banishing a Nekroz of Unicore to search out a Nekroz Mirror. He passed.

Hodge Santos drew Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing. He attacked with Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing and Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing to drop McBride to 3100 Life Points. Then he ended his turn.

McBride used Nekroz Mirror to banish a Nekroz of Clausolas to Ritual Summon a Nekroz of Clausolas.

Hodge Santos drew Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing. He thought for a moment before Normal Summoning Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing. He then Synchro Summon Armades, Keeper of Boundaries in Defense Position and passed his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing. He switched Armades to Attack Position and it ran over Nekroz of Clausolas with the 500 ATK boost from Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing. He ended his turn, and after McBride saw his next draw he conceded! Lose 1 Turn and Skill Drain mark a great opening for Hodge Santos and he takes Game 1.

McBride chose to go second once again. Hodge Santos started off with Effect Veiler, Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing, Skill Drain, Artifact Lancea, and Lose 1 Turn. He set Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing and his two Traps before ending his turn.

McBride drew, and in the Standby Phase Hodge Santos flipped up Lose 1 Turn. McBride Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands but was met with Skill Drain! He then used Nekroz Kaleidoscope to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Unicore sending a Herald of Arc Light, which let him add a Nekroz of Brionac to his hand. He Xyz Summoned Evilswarm Exciton Knight in Defense Position and used Forbidden Lance, then activating the effect to destroy the field. Hodge Santos had the Effect Veiler, though, so the effect was halted. That might’ve been McBride’s one shot at clearing the field.

Hodge Santos drew Dark Hole. He passed.

McBride set a Spell or Trap, switched Exciton to Attack Position, and ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Torrential Tribute. He ended his turn.

McBride activated Nekroz of Brionac and chained Evilswarm Exciton Knight’s effect, and then he chained Phoenix Wing Wind Blast discarding Volcanic Shell to return the Skill Drain to the top of Hodge Santos’ deck! The field was destroyed, and the Nekroz of Brionac resolved adding Nekroz of Clausolas to McBride’s hand. He then used it to add Nekroz Cycle to his hand. He used it discarding Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Valkyrus. The Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz added a Nekroz of Brionac, and then he paid 500 Life Points to add a Volcanic Shell to his hand. He used Nekroz of Valkyrus tributing Shell and Exciton to draw 2 cards, and then used the second Shell’s effect to add a third. Then he ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew the Skill Drain again. He set it along with Torrential Tribute before ending his turn.

McBride used Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror to his hand. Then he used Nekroz of Brionac to add a Nekroz of Trishula to his hand. Next, he used the Nekroz Mirror, but Hodge Santos used Artifact Lancea! He continued the Ritual Summon using Nekroz of Valkyrus and Volcanic Shell, and the Nekroz of Trishula attacked directly. He set a backrow before passing.

Hodge Santos drew Mistake. He used Dark Hole but McBride used Forbidden Lance to protect the Nekroz of Trishula. He set Mistake before ending his turn.

McBrides’ Nekroz of Trishula attacked directly.

Hodge Santos drew Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing, set it, and passed.

McBride passed.

Hodge Santos drew Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing. He ended his turn.

McBride attack Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing with Nekroz of Trishula and flipped up Vanity’s Emptiness! Then he ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing. He Normal Summoned it and flipped up Torrential Tribute. Then he ended his turn.

McBride Normal Summoned Armageddon Knight. He sent Djinn Releaser of Rituals to the grave before setting two backrow and ending his turn. In Hodge Santos’ Main Phase 1 he flipped up Blaze Accelerator Reload, and that’s all Hodge Santos needed to see to move onto Game 3! So far this has been an epic Match between two off the wall Decks and it’s going to a final game. Hodge Santos decided to go first.

Hodge Santos opened Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing, Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing, Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing, and two Lose 1 Turn. He set Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing and his two Lose 1 Turns before passing.

McBride Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands. He added Nekroz of Brionac to his hand and then used Nekroz of Clausolas to add a Nekroz Kaleidoscope to his hand. He activated it and Hodge Santos flipped Lose 1 Turn. Nekroz of Unicore came out in Defense Position sending a Herald of Arc Light, which allowed him to add another Nekroz of Unicore to his hand. He Xyz Summoned Lavalval Chain in Defense Position and then used Nekroz of Brionac to search out a Nekroz of Valkyrus to his hand. Then he used Nekroz of Unicore to add the Nekroz of Brionac back to his hand. He set one Spell or Trap and ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Soul Charge. He Flip Summoned Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing, Normal Summoned Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing, and attacked but was stopped by a Nekroz of Valkyrus.

McBride used Lavalval Chain to send Blaze Accelerator Reload to the graveyard. He banished it to send a Volcanic Scattershot to the grave, which then sent two more copies to the graveyard and inflicted 500 damage to Hodge Santos and messed up the chance his Yang Zing’s effects because the last thing to happen was the damage, not the destruction. He then Normal Summoned Armageddon Knight and sent Djinn Releaser of Rituals to the Graveyard. Afterwards he attacked directly with Lavalval Chain and Armageddon Knight before using Nekroz of Brionac in Main Phase 2 to add a Nekroz of Unicore to his hand. That added back a Nekroz of Valkyrus and he ended his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing. He set it and ended his turn.

McBride used Lavalval Chain to send Volcanic Shell to the Graveyard, and then he used it to add another copy to his hand. He then activated Nekroz Mirror sending a Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz from his hand to Ritual Summon a Nekroz of Valkyrus. He used Mystical Space Typhoon on Lose 1 Turn when its effect activated but Hodge Santos had the second copy to force it to Defense Position. Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz added a copy of Nekroz of Clausolas to his hand. He passed right after time in the Round was called.

Hodge Santos drew Yang Zing Path. He Normal Summoned Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing and Flip Summoned Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing. McBride used Vanity’s Emptiness, and then Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing attacked over Armageddon Knight. In Main Phase 2 Hodge Santos Synchro Summoned Armades, Keeper of Boundaries in Defense Position. He then used Yang Zing Path to shuffle back everything except Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing and he drew Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing and Lose 1 Turn. He set the latter and ended his turn.

McBride searched a Volcanic Shell using the one in his Graveyard. He then used Nekroz of Valkyrus to tribute two Volcanic Shells in his hand to draw two cards. Next, he Normal Summoned Volcanic Rocket to add Blaze Accelerator Reload to his hand. Then he used Nekroz of Brionac to add a Nekroz of Trishula to his hand. Afterwards he switched Nekroz of Valkyrus to Attack Position and passed.

Hodge Santos drew Satellarknight Zefrathuban. He attacked Volcanic Rocket with Armades, Keeper of Boundaries after switching it to Attack Position. He set Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing and ended his turn.

McBride used Nekroz of Clausolas to add a Nekroz Cycle to his hand. Then he used it banishing the Djinn in grave to Ritual Summon back the Nekroz of Clausolas. He attacked the face-down Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing with Nekroz of Valkyrus, switched Lavalval Chain to Defense Position, and set three backrow before ending his turn.

Hodge Santos drew Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing. He contemplated his actions for a bit, and then extended the handshake! That was one of the best Feature Matches all weekend and it’s awesome that it was all recorded for the Feature Match. Hodge Santos has a good shot at making Top 32 at this event and I can’t wait to see how things turn out.